Don'tcha hate it when someone in front of you has their butt crack showing out of their jeans? (So gross!) Well, what about the other way around -- do you hate it when guys sag their jeans so much that you can see their entire butt (covered by boxers, of course)?
Well, guys who sag are getting more than a crackdown by the fashion police -- some Louisiana towns are making it illegal to sag your pants! Lawmakers there say that pants that are worn low enough to expose underwear pose a threat to the public, the New York Times reports. Therefore, they've enacted indecency laws to ban the style. For example, in Delcambre, La. saggers can receive fines up to $500 or up to a six-month sentence. (The Delcambre law has been in effect since June.) Beginning June 15, the offense will get you a fine up to $150 (plus court costs) or up to 15 days in jail in Mansfield, La.
This isn't the first time lawmakers have tried to enact rules against sagging, but because legislation efforts are focusing on indecency laws, they've been more successful than past attempts, which were shot down by people claiming it violated their freedom of expression.
Besides the right to freedom of expression though, some people, including Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, say the law is racist by nature. "I don't see any way that something constitutional could be crafted when the intention is to single out and label one style of dress that originated with the black youth culture, as an unacceptable form of expression," she tells the New York Times. Dr.Benjamin Chavis, former executive director of the NAACP and current chairman of Russell Simmons' Hip Hop Summit Action Network, agrees, saying,"I think to criminalize how a person wears their clothing is more offensive than what the remedy is trying to do." The coalition will challenge the ordinances in court.
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